A right-arm fast bowler with a sling action, Rubel Hossain made an immediate impact in his ODI debut, troubling the batsmen with his bouncers and ending with match-winning figures of 4 for 33 against Sri Lanka. He began by playing taped tennis ball cricket in his hometown Bagerhat, but his talents were discovered during a pacer hunt programme where he topped the speed gun. He made his cricketing debut in 2007, against Khulna Division, for whom his hero Mashrafe Mortaza plays. That didn't stop him from bouncing Mortaza and picking up his wicket during their first encounter at a local competition. When Hossain entered the domestic scene, there were instances of batsmen retiring hurt because of his stock delivery. His love for speed also explains his fascination for bikes.

Hossain was included in Bangladesh's Under-19 squad for the World Cup in 2008 and earned a call-up to the Bangladesh one-day squad for the home series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe the following year. He also made it to the Test squad for West IndiesCricinfo staff June 2009